I discussed with Fiona Campbell her sculpture installation at Tremenheere, including 'Flags of the Forest', a series of eco-flag pieces inspired by woodlands. Campbell has used labour-intensive methods such as hand-stitching, weaving, and hand-made eco dyes to celebrate biodiversity, hopeful of nature being more cared for and thriving. Placed in the landscape near Tremenheere’s woodland and reflected in a water feature, the flags become way markers. The concept was inspired by Ursula Le Guin’s book titled ‘The Word for World is Forest’. Woods and forests provide vital ecosystems - crucial to our survival.
Above and Below is made of reclaimed, discarded and found materials collected over the years on walks, each with a story, such as plant fibres, insects, bones, pondweed and scrap steel. Some were gleaned at Tremenheere and from a recent ACE funded trip to my birthplace in Kenya. The work is a response to the entanglements of matter, rhizomatic systems and debris that make up the strata we walk on.
","author_name":"Doug Burton"}